Bharti ropes in ex-Walmart India head as Group Advisor

Former Walmart India head Raj Jain has been roped in as an advisor by the Bharti Group, which on Wednesday parted ways with the US retail giant to operate stores independently in India.

"The appointment will be effective soon, but I cannot share the details of my role right now," Jain told PTI. A Bharti Group spokesperson confirmed the development.

In June, Walmart announced a top-level change in its Indian operations, with Ramnik Narsey replacing Jain.

At that time Walmart had not specified the reason for Jain's departure from the company. The development came in the backdrop of investigations by Walmart over allegations of corruption against it in foreign markets, including India.

In 2012, Bharti Walmart had suspended five executives, including CFO Pankaj Madan, who later quit the company. Madan joined Bharti Airtel's global finance team earlier this year.

Jain had joined Walmart in 2006 and was named head of Walmart India in 2007. During his tenure, the company set up the wholesale cash-and-carry joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, back-end services and consulting businesses.

The Enforcement Directorate has also been probing the Rs 455.8 crore (Rs 4.55 billion) investment by Walmart in Cedar Support Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Ventures, for alleged violation of norms.